You know what would be productive? Go to the Canadian International Auto Show on Family Day weekend and try to take pictures and spend time with specific trucks. That said, when that is the only time you have available you go.

The best picture I could get of a pickup at the auto show

They are relatively new technology but I have never seen so many 360 degree cameras in one place. People are walking around with poles which I can only assume were taking video of the massive crowds and the occasional car being swarmed. If pictures are what you want to do, which it seems almost everyone has decided, then the museum displays of some admittely amazing cars is the place to go. These cars must only live in the back of a transport truck because I have never seen any of these on the road.

The main reason I went to the show was to look at different Pick Up trucks for the camper. The research that I have done so far has been overwhelming. For every different model of truck there seems to be ten different but major options that make a huge difference. There are different engines, box sizes, seating arrangements and drive train options and each choice comes with a different set of abilities in gas milage and payload each of which are vitally important.

A few weeks ago I went around to a couple of dealerships and talked with any sales people who would spare the time. While both GMC and Dodge dealerships were willing to sit down and chat. In those conversations at a time when money wasn’t a part of the conversation I came away thinking that the Dodge Ram Powerwagon was the truck to look at. It has the payload for the truck campers I am looking at and 4×4 capabilities that must make it impossible to get stuck ever.

The show gave me the chance to finally see the truck up close and it is astounding. First off, for a person of average size this truck is massive. I tried to look into the box of the pick up and bumped my chin on the top edge! The top of the front hood is at eye level and the wheel wells are above my hips. In the winter many people around me like to put the windscreen wipers up so they don’t freeze to the window. I tried this and found out I just couldn’t reach. The hood was down but I can’t imagine how I would replace the windsheild fluid or close the hood without a step stool. That said, changing the oil must be super easy as there is no reason to use ramps or jack it up to get underneath.

Seeing the truck made me realize that this purchase will mean I need to change my philosophy for my transportation. I currently own the largest car in my life, a Toyota Matrix. All of my cars have been small and nimble. They have been purchased mostly on a concept of minimal cost and ability to mostly satisfy the day to day needs of getting around town. A truck on the other hand will be purchased primarily for the trip. The cost of it though will mean it will have to be owned for longer than that.

Still… the Powerwagon is an amazing truck. As standard it comes with things such as a winch and high clearance that I would at least consider adding / modifying to anything that I may get. It still remains high on the list of possiblities and now I am looking into 4×4 clubs to learn how to use all of its capablities.

As for the Auto Show, next year I will just have to find some time to get there on a quieter day. There were so many amazing vehicles that I wanted to get a chance to spend more time with but I just don’t have the patience to wait for a quiet time which for some trucks never seemed to happen. Somehow I will have to find a way to make that happen.

In resent months I have come to the idea that a truck camper is probably my best option for the overland vehicle I am looking for. For a while I had considered getting a van and converting it but as this vehicle will become my primary transport as well a van won’t really work. Being able to separate camper from truck will make it more fesable.

The bonus of a truck camper is that all the comforts anyone would want for extended travel. Truck campers have a bed that doesn’t need to be made each day, a kitchen and table and most have a bathroom with shower. Another advantage is that they have heating and cooling systems and can be insulated to combat colder temperatures.

So in general I am looking for a few things. I am hoping that the entire vehicle will be as light / small as possible. While I don’t plan on doing major rock crawling with the camper attached being able to go off road. Being light will also help with some of the other compromises this rig will have to deal with.

First compromise is that of payload. I am amazed at the small weights that pick ups can carry. That said for day to day driving the smaller the rig the better as fuel economy will already be much worse than I am used to. The second compromise is that of shipping. In order to get to some of the places in the world (South America included) it is necessary to ship your vehicle. Lower weight will hopefully provide some advantage to me. One shipping issue still to be overcome will be the height of the rigs below as I am fairly sure they wont fit within a shipping container, something I may have to figure out.

So these are the current short list that research has told me would be good options for what I am thinking of.

The Adventurer website states that this camper can fit on Nissan Titan and Toyota Tundra trucks and all of the pictures show it on a Ford F150. I am not so certain though as the weights quoted and the suggested amount you need to consider for your own belongings exceed the max payloads of those trucks. The nice thing about the Adventurer Campers is that they advertise 4 season insulation as a standard which is a definate plus.

The Laredo SC is heavier than the 80RB and would need a bigger truck, which it looks like I will have to do anyways. One nice thing about this rig is how it makes use of a Cassette Toilet. If you are going to have a toilet then you will have to deal with the nasty mess that is left behind. In North America camp grounds have waste disposal areas where the RV’s dump their tanks through a hose you carry with the truck but outside of the USA and Canada these facilities are not common. As gross as it may seem to someone that has not used RV’s or trailers, having a cassette that you can take to an appropriate disposal area (any toilet really) is an important consideration if you have a bathroom on board.

This camper has been designed and launched in the last year or two and was designed to fit the Ford 150. It is the lightest as well as the shortest camper I have listed and still retains having a bathroom. Anything smaller and lighter comes with that big compromise and isn’t currently a part of the thought process. A very big thing that I like about this camper is that the floor length is only 6.5 feet long which means that it will not hang over the end of the typical truck. The other campers either need to have an 8 foot truck bed or there will be overhang which doesn’t seem ideal to me even though the manufactures say that isn’t a problem.

This rig is not a truck camper but I saw it recently and thought it was cool. It is the most expensive idea on this list and would require me to drive a motorhome to work every day but it is a self contained unit that would easily fit in a shipping container. The Mercedes Sprinter van chassis is also a very capable truck and should be able to get to where ever I would want to go with a camper. The other very cool thing about this RV is how flexable it is to a variety of different applications.

So that is where I am at the moment. Do you or anyone you know have any experience with these or other RV’s / Truck Campers that may be useful? If so I would love to hear about it.

It happens almost every 3 to 4 months. Someone or something presents me a chance for a trip some place. The people who know me know that I am interested in traveling to just about any place on the planet. Most recently the offer was to travel to Cambodia and Vietnam at some point this coming year.

Most of the time the answer is Hell Yes, and then either my own ambitions take over, the time they want to go isn’t combatible with the school calendar or I am so far in debt that springing for a $4,000 dollar trip right now would not be a smart idea. Being an adult sucks some times. Being spontaneous and having a long term plan do not really match up some times.

The plan for this year included a trip to B.C. with my sister to try out living with a truck camper for two weeks. We had planed to travel from Vancouver to Whistler and spend a couple of days mountain biking, from there head over to Vancouver Island and go whale watching and explore the rainforest. I was excited to show my sister a part of the world that I know she would love.

And then the dentist happened. They always seem to provide the worst and most expensive news possible. My tooth needed to be removed and the best option for it is to have an implant. The cost of the entire process is more than the cost of renting an RV. So decision making time…. have a permanent gap where a very big tooth used to be or do the better long term option, not really a choice is it.

I guess it is time for some Adulting. The temptations for just saying #@$% it and go are such as a driving force over the last few years. I really want to go to all of these. Maybe just a motorbike trip this summer (oh ya…. did I mention heading east on the bike again??). Lets see how well I can do :).